


White as Snow

by musesmistress



Category: Legend of the Seeker
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-14
Updated: 2013-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-29 06:56:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/684121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesmistress/pseuds/musesmistress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kahlan sneaks into the seers village to steal something that will save Zedd's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	White as Snow

Richard paused in front of Kahlan as swept a hand across the white mare. Her white dress blended with the animal so perfectly she could be mistaken as part of it when mounted. He smiled, a brave smile, he didn’t want her to do this.

“This is dangerous,” he said, letting his smile fail a little.

“There’s no other choice, the healing water of the seer’s spring is the only thing that will break the magic trapping Zedd.”

“You said these people were vicious, savages that liked to eat the people they captured.”

“Richard, they can’t see white and they worship confessors, I’m the only person who can get in and out alive. I’ll be back here before you know it.”

He let his head drop, eyes fixing on the pack he had in his hand. He smiled a little. “It’s ironic, I brought you something in the last village and it’s going to be useful in more ways than one.”

Kahlan turned her full attention to him. “You brought me something?” she asked, unable to help the smile. Richard grinned as he raised his pack and opened it. On top of everything was a carefully folded piece of material, he lifted it out gently and handed it to her. Her hands ran over the soft material, similar to her confessors dress, she took hold of the sides and as Richard drew his hands away it fell down, opening up.

“A cloak,” she whispered and turned it around to see the fur lining the edges and bottom. It was plain and simple, just like her dress and clasped at the top by a gold chain. She quickly unclasped it and flipped it around and over her shoulders, it felt so warm and snug, it reminded her of being wrapped up in Richard’s arms. She pulled the hood up and pressed the fir in close to her face to feel it against her skin.

"It's beautiful," she said letting the hood drop back. She took a step forward and gave him a kiss.

"We need to move now," Cara said interrupting them. "Before it gets too dark for Kahlan to pass the Dragon Peaks."

Kahlan nodded to her friend and moved away from Richard. He helped her mount the horse and she gave him one last reassuring smile before turning up the road behind Cara.

It was a long way to the Dragon Peak mountain, Cara would go up the mountain as far as she could, stopping when she reached the snow drifts of the Dragons pass. She'd hide there, staying out of sight until she could hear Kahlan returning. She couldn't be any use in the seer village, but she could provide protection if Kahlan was chased out.

Alone, Kahlan passed over the Dragons Pass, it used to be the home of the red dragons, and a very frightening place to go. Only the confessors would dare pass and only if they had a wizard to protect them from the attack of any bored or hungry dragon.

Kahlan had heard that the Dragons had since moved out, but it still seemed like a frightening place. She made it over without incident and stopped at the edge of the seers village. The iron spikes that shot up from the ground were a warning, the fact that there were no heads on the spikes told Kahlan no one had visited this place in years. Beyond the log walls the village would be covered in snow, the walls inside painted in white wash, lines drawn down between the huge logs to show them their boundaries. This, though, was Kahlan's way in and out.

She dismounted her white horse, confident that she hadn't been seen so far and tied the horse to a tree a short distance from the village entrance and took a deep breath. This was it, she couldn't take a step wrong her, or she'd be found and killed.

She moved quickly, both dress and cloak hoods up to cover her face and hide the dark colour of her hair. She dropped her head, fixing her eyes on the ground just a few paces ahead and paused only when she heard the movements of the guard in the tower above. When she heard him move away again she moved onwards, vanishing into the village and sliding herself along the edges to the right. She had to move carefully, glance at the people nearby, make sure no one was looking before she stepped across one of the lines. If they saw it break, they'd know someone was there.

She moved slowly, carefully, letting night fall in and the villagers slip into their homes to sleep. As the crowds thinned out, she found it easier to look and move without being seen. As she reached the far corner of the village, she found herself stuck by a group of young men, gathered near the water well for what seemed like a lesson. She settled down in the snow, waiting for them to finish and leave and after a few hours they parted and she breathed a sigh of relief that she'd made it this far.

She waited until all the men were out of site before moving to place herself between the well and the outer wall. Then she waited. The midnight chime rang out and the last of the people vanished into their homes, the lamps at the tops of the towers died down and the centre of the village vanished into darkness.

To be sure, Kahlan waited another 30 minutes before she reached forward, grabbing the rope to the well and slowly pulled it back, drawing the bucket up. If she went too fast, the sound would tell someone what was happening and too slow would take longer than expected and she'd risk getting caught.

When she finally had the bucket at the top, she unhooked it and let the rope go slowly so it dangled down just below the line of the well, seeming to anyone looking her way that nothing had changed. With the bucket in hand, she ducked down behind the well and filled the two water skins.

She took a moment to check the coast was clear before she started her journey back around the edge of the village. Several long hours of slow stepping, checking and holding her breath when she came too close to someone. Back at the entrance, Kahlan slipped out, crouching in the gateway to wait for the guards to move away before she darted off across the flatland to the tree where she'd left her horse. She untied him quickly and mounted without a though and then froze. The high seer was standing there, watching her. She thought that was it, that she'd be dead in a heartbeat, he only had to shout or throw his weapon and everything would be over. But he did nothing, didn't move, except the slow smile that spread across his face for a moment before he bowed low to her.

"It takes skill to do that," he said, his voice harsh and grainy. "It takes great courage to bring you here. Both things make up a true mother confessor." He bowed again and as he rose, she saw his eyes close. She knew what it mean, it meant he had seen nothing. She kicked at the horse and took off along the path back towards the mountain.

Kahlan slowed only to walk the Dragon's peak back, aware this time that the smell of burnt flesh lingered in the air, but the thin path was too dangerous to ride fast on. As soon as she was back on the wider path she picked up speed and met up with Cara only an hour later than expected. They wasted no time getting back to Richard and Zedd and Kahlan handed over one of the water skins and dropped down against a tree to watch as Cara and Richard revived their friend.

"I guess no one saw you," Richard said an hour later, just as she was starting to feel the strain of the night before. He settled down next to her, pulling her close and she rested her head against his should.

"I think the high seer was watching me the whole time. He was waiting for me when I got back to the horse."

"Did you have to fight him?"

"No," she said softly, sleep slowly seeping in. "He honoured me and let me go."

"Wise man," Richard said. "Saved himself from having to deal with me."

Kahlan let out a soft laugh as she sank into her restful slumber.


End file.
